Tuesday, August 24, 2010

I saw this dish recently at Steamy Kitchenand wanted to try it soon, and I'm so glad I didn't wait! My photo isn't as good as Jadens, but the meal was certainly excellent. Once you have all the vegetables chopped and the beef sliced, this meal comes together in just minutes. That is if you are not working around a 14 month old granddaughter who is trying to pull stuff out of your cabinets. She didn't take her planned nap, so meal preparation was a bit challenging, to say the least, with a very active and curious toddler around. But back to this meal- it's one of those lick the bowl clean type of dishes. Judging by the groaning that was coming from my husband, I knew he loved it. The sauce that the beef is marinated in is delicious; sweet but yet it's got so much flavor from the garlic and fresh ginger. I've got to make it again this week because it keeps calling my name! Here's what I did.

Put your rice on to cook first, using whatever kind you like. The vegetables can be prepared a day ahead if desired. If doing them at time of meal, have them chopped before you begin cooking. Slice beef very thin, across the grain. It can be prepared several hours in advance also.Mix the minced garlic, grated ginger, sesame oil and brown sugar together in a bowl. Pour over the beef and let marinate.Heat a wok or skillet to medium heat. add the 1 tablespoon oil and the onion and cook for a couple of minutes. Turn up to high heat, add beef and cook until barely an pink left. Add the carrots and zucchini and stir fry for about 1 minute. Add the spinach and cook just until wilted. Stir in the toasted sesame seeds. Serve this over rice. Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

I had a craving for French toast this week, and I also had some blueberries that either needed to be used or put in the freezer. This recipe for French Toast came out of one of my Mother's cookbooks and I've used for years. I prefer using French Bread or a similar bread as it has a firmer texture after being cooked than sandwich bread does. This time I used Walmart's french bread since there were no better options from my store. It works very well for this recipe though. Slice the bread on the diagonal, about 1 inch thick, dip it in the egg mixture and turn over and dip other side. This bread soaked up the custard quickly, but a coarser bread may need a bit longer. The egg mixture is easy to increase if you need to make more quickly. I use one egg to 1/3 cup of milk. I doubled that this time and got 8 slices of bread out of it. This will fluctuate, depending on the bread you use and whether or not you let it soak. We enjoyed this treat for breakfast, but of course it's good anytime of day. Here's my method.

BLUEBERRY SAUCE

1 pint of fresh or frozen blueberries (2 cups)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup water

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Add berries, sugar and water to a heavy bottomed sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 10-15 minutes. Mix the cornstarch and lemon and add to the berries, stirring quickly so the cornstarch is incorporated. Cook for 1 minute longer, until sauce is thickened. Remove from heat. Sauce will thicken more as it cools.NOTE: This sauce is also delicious as a topping on ice cream or served with lemon or pound cake!

FRENCH TOAST

1 inch slices of french bread, or bread of choice

2/3 cup milk

2 large eggs, well beaten

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to low heat and place a baking sheet with a metal cooling rack on it, in the oven. This is needed if you are cooking several batches of French Toast, so that the toast will stay hot and crusty on the outside.Mix together all ingredients in a bowl.Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. I use my electric griddle on 325 degrees, or sometimes my cast iron griddle for smaller amounts.. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan. Take 1 slice of bread and lay it in the egg mixture, turn over on the other side, and hold it up and let the excess drip off. Place soaked bread in the pan. Repeat with more bread, but don't crowd it in your pan. Cook the bread until golden and then turn over. Adjust the temperature of you griddle if necessary. When done, place the cooked french toast in the oven to stay warm, and finish cooking the rest.To serve, slather with butter and top with Blueberry Sauce, or maple syrup. Mmmmm, this is amazingly good and will put you in a great mood the rest of the day! Enjoy!Whats your favorite topping for French Toast?

Monday, August 16, 2010

The continuing blazing hot weather has left me with little desire to actually cook. I know I'm not the only one struggling here, so sandwiches, salads and one pan meals are all I've been making. I'm just trying to keep the house cool, so I don't use the stove anymore than I have to. Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches are always good when you have some juicy homegrown tomatoes to use. I decided to add avocado and red onion slices to it and the sandwich was even better.Of course, you don't need a recipe for this.All you need is 2 slices of bread, toasted- or not if you preferseveral slices of crisp baconsliced tomatoesthin onion slicesavocado slicesmayonnaiseAssemble sandwich and devour!What do you like to eat when the temperatures soar to 100 degrees?

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

According to my family, this is the best cobbler ever. I've tried others but my family has always wanted this one. I found this recipe in an old church cookbook that I have had for about 35 years and it never fails to please. I have used wild blackberries in this cobbler that my daughter's boyfriend picked for me from his grandfather's farm. Such a nice young man don't ya think!
Anyway, this cobbler is delicious. The topping is thick when stirred together and then it is spooned evenly over the hot fruit. It may not look like there is enough topping, but as it bakes it rises and spreads across the berries. When done, the topping is crusty on top, and sweet, buttery and dense underneath. It is not biscuit like. Whether served as is, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this blackberry cobbler is a winner. You may of course use other berries. The topping is sweet, so I use less sugar in the blackberries, leaving them somewhat tart to balance out the sweetness of the topping. But go by your own tastes. Other berries may take more, or less sugar. Here's the recipe.

THE BEST BLACKBERRY COBBLER!

You will need;
3-4 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, thawed (any juices saved)
1 cup juice from the berries, or water or combination of both (See note below)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar- more if fruit is too tart(you need to taste it after fruit and sugar is mixed)
Mix the juice and cornstarch in a large saucepan. Add fruit and sugar and heat until it begins to thicken. Pour into a 9x9x2 inch baking dish.

Topping;
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
Mix all ingredients together well. Mixture will be thick. Spoon evenly over the fruit in the baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until the topping is done. Insert a toothpick into the topping; if it comes out clean, except for juice, it is done. If the topping still seems gooey, then bake a few minutes longer, and test again. Enjoy!

NOTE: When using frozen berries that have thawed, you will have juices that you need to save to use in the filling. When using fresh berries, you may not have enough juice to use, so then you will need to use water in place of juice.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

It is so hot here that I haven't been cooking much. When it's 100 degrees out side I'm not really inspired to add very much heat to the house, just so we can eat. Thankfully this salad was so quick. I've also made it with lemon garlic chicken sliced on top for a main dish salad. It is delicious and I'll be making it as long as this heat stays, and longer. I used Far East brand of couscous, which is one of the few that are available here. I used the plain couscous, but the flavored ones would work too, I'm sure. Here's how I made it.

GREEK STYLE COUSCOUS SALAD

1 package (7 ounce)of Far East plain, couscous
Cook couscous according to package directions. I added salt and pepper to the water. Bring the water to a boil; add the couscous and remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
Mix together 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Pour over couscous and fluff with a fork. Cool.
Add;
1 cup, or more, diced cucumber -seeds removed
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 diced tomato
chopped fresh herbs-I used about 1 T. basil and flat leaf parsley together
Stir ingredients together and chill before serving. Top with Feta Cheese. Enjoy!